Chapter 20: Home

Letty's fingers wrapped around her dog tags tightly, the only remainder she had of her father. He was a war veteran that in the early days was trying to groom her to follow in his footsteps. She sobbed quietly, pressed up against the back of the house, wishing that the world would swallow her up hole. She heard footsteps approach and she froze, standing up straight and wiping her face.

"Letty?" A deep baritone voice asked, stepping into the moonlight before her. "Just go away," she mumbled, turning away from him, hiding her face. "You're standing underneath my bedroom window. Your muffled cries carry," Dom replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sorry," she whispered, trying to walk past him and into the house.

Dom stretched out an arm and stopped her. "What's wrong?" He asked, no sentiment in his voice. Letty cleared her voice and shook her head. "I'm fine, just go about your business," she said, holding her head up high and looking him straight in the eye. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her to him. Dom clutched onto her tightly, bringing sobs out of her.

---

As the months went by, Matty's belly seemed to get bigger and bigger. She had the seat so far back she felt like she was driving in the backseat. She slapped on a pair of big, dark sunglasses on her face as she climbed out of her car. Her flip flops clicked across the hot cement as she crossed the street to get into the Racer's Edge before her lunch hour was up.

She came in through the back entrance, finding Letty sitting on her desk. "Oooooohhhh, administrative assistant," Letty said, picking up the name plate on her desk and waving it through the air. Matty scoffed and sat down in her oversized chair. "It's a fancy name for I do all the paperwork and Harry reaps the rewards," she replied, placing her feet on the desk.

"Well I just came by to say hi and put in an order for Dom, but Harry took care of that for me. Where were you, missy?" Letty asked, jumping off the desk and stretching her body out. "Lunch date with lover boy," she replied. "And how is that going exactly?" Letty cocked an eyebrow and grinned.

"So far he's really nice. He helped me finish painting the nursery. Jesse built the crib and Leon put in those cubbies I wanted," Matty said. Letty laughed and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the wall. "So when do I get to meet Mark, the man of your dreams?"

Matty scoffed. "He's far from that. We're just friends. We go out to eat dinner and sometimes he comes over and we watch a movie. That's it, nothing more and nothing less." Letty shook her head and stuck her head outside the office, glancing out and back in. "Vince is out there," she nodded towards the display area in the front.

Matty froze and glanced up at Letty. "I think he had it all planned out. He wanted to come over on your break, but I kept stalling," Letty said. Matty groaned and shook her head, rubbing her temples and sighing. "I don't think I'm up to dealing with him. I'm still trying to get used to being alone and out of the house," she replied.

Letty nodded and headed for the door. "Mia and Jesse said they would swing by tonight. So you know what that means," she said, before heading to the display area in search of V. Matty smiled after her, knowing that it would be an interesting night.

---

Matty jumped up off the couch at the sound of the doorbell. She glanced around her small apartment, making sure that everything was in place before opening the door. "The usual?" Matty asked, letting Mia and Jesse into the apartment. Jesse placed a kiss on her cheek before walking into the apartment with a large cheese pizza in hand. Mia walked in after him with chips and soda.

It was the usual Tuesday night. Mia and Jesse would come over after dinner and then they would watch House, followed by Law & Order: SVU. If the night was still young for them, they would either pop a movie into the DVD or play a round of Uno.

It was those Tuesday nights that Matty felt that she could call her apartment home. Those nights were the only nights that laughter was heard coming out of her apartment. The others were spent in silence, with the television on in the background or a soft rock song playing.

Mia plopped down on the couch, murmuring something about House and Cuddy getting together, while Jesse went on and on about the sexual tension he was feeling between Stabler and Benson. Matty grabbed the ranch dressing from the fridge and opened up the pizza box, settling down in her usual position on the floor by the coffee table to stuff her face.

"Hey, there's a sale downtown in this baby store. Jesse stopped in and got a few things. They said that they would have some delivery men bring it over tomorrow," Mia said, turning on the television. Matty scoffed, glancing over to Jesse. "Jesse's little gifts are starting to get suspicious. He seems to know exactly what I want and what I need. How do you manage the expenses?" She asked, by now glaring at him.

He shifted nervously in his seat and sighed. "Fine you got me," he said, waving his hands in the air as a sign of defeat. "The team chips in and gives the money to Mia and Vince who in turn spend the every Sunday afternoon hitting every baby shop in Cali." Matty stood up as fast as she could in her condition and glared at Mia. "WHAT?" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Mia stood up and tried to calm her down. "This isn't good for your condition, which is why we didn't tell," she explained, leading her to the couch to sit down. Matty shook her head and groaned. "I want you to take everything back. Every last cent, Mia. I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own, you know."

"It doesn't matter what you say or what we think. Dom considers you part of the family. Either you take the gifts or he'll make your life a living hell," Jesse said, turning up the television as House started. Matty shook her head and sighed in defeat. "I had a feeling that even if I moved out of the house Dom would still be riding my ass."

"Vince misses you, you know," Mia whispered, settling down next to her. "I'm no good to him and don't change the subject. How are you guys affording all the extra crap you're buying for me and the baby?" Matty asked, kicking her feet up on the couch. Mia shrugged and stared intently at the television. "Dom's raking in the money, I guess," she answered without thinking.